With all of the adjustments we have had to make over the past few months, I appreciate our school's leadership vision of seizing the opportunity in these moments. One big shift at our school has been the embargo on sharing food with our friends. Believe me when I say that the teachers miss this greatly too! Food is often the centre of a special occasion; it brings people together and opens up great conversations.
Fortunately, there is another source of joy and social activity in our community: BOOKS. At Southridge, our community of readers remains as strong as ever, and this school year, we have initiated a Birthday Book Program for Junior School students to share their love of reading with others in the school to commemorate their special day (since we can no longer share food).
Around a child’s birthday, families are welcome to contribute a book students will enjoy to the Junior School Library in collaboration with the teacher-librarian. We pride ourselves in having a large and diverse selection of books that foster each student’s passion for reading and enrich children’s learning. The new books will be sure to have a long-lasting impact on our avid reading community and will provide many hours of enjoyment beyond a child’s birthday.
All Birthday Book donations will include a charming book plate inside the cover of the book to honour each birthday child who donates a book. The birthday child will also have the privilege of checking the book out before anyone else.
We have already added some wonderful new books to the library, such as The Tower of Nero (the latest book in the Trials of Apollo series), a whole new series by Dan Gutman called My Weirder-est School, and crowd pleasers like Guinness World Records 2021.
During these wild and unpredictable times of COVID-19, we are so fortunate that we can still find creative ways to share and celebrate in our community!
Contributed by Ms. Gardecki, Junior School Teacher-Librarian